What it takes to become a licensed nursing home administrator in Arkansas: the Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program, the NAB exams, the state licensure exam and what it is drawn from, continuing education, and where to find a preceptor. Figures below are taken from the official sources listed on this page.
| AIT program | 640 hours (72 classroom, 568 in a facility) over 16 weeks; who must complete it is unclear in the rules, see below |
|---|---|
| National exams | NAB Core of Knowledge + a Line of Service exam, the NHA exam for nursing home administrators (the DHS page also lists RCAL/HCBS; confirm with the Office) |
| State exam | Required for initial applicants (out-of-state applicants, see below): the Arkansas Nursing Home Administrator State Licensure Exam, written by the Office of Long-Term Care and taken in person in Little Rock after the NAB exams. 70 to pass Details ↓ |
| Continuing education | 20 clock hours each licensure year (or 6 college semester hours, or an approved course); no carryover |
| License renewal | Every year by 1 July (§ 402-308(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)). The fee is $100, and a license not renewed by 1 July is suspended, with a $50 late charge (Ark. Code § 20-10-405(a)) |
| Who licenses | Arkansas Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Care. There is no separate board |
| Official sources | humanservices.arkansas.gov · nabweb.org (national exams) |
Verified against the sources above, September 2026. Requirements change; the Office of Long-Term Care's current published rule is always the final word.
The Arkansas Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program is a 640-hour program: 72 hours of classroom instruction plus 568 hours of facility-based training under a certified preceptor at a skilled nursing facility, over 16 weeks. The Department of Human Services approves it, and the Arkansas Health Care Foundation runs it, once a year.
Who has to do it is not settled by the rules. 20 CAR § 402-205 says the AIT is for applicants who do not meet the education and experience requirements of § 402-204, and the Department’s page says the same. But § 402-302(e), added in 2024, says applicants “must submit proof of completing the Administrator-in-Training Program” with their application. If your degree and experience look like they qualify you on their own, confirm with the Office before you plan around skipping it (NHA.Licensure@dhs.arkansas.gov).
Compare this against every other jurisdiction on AIT Hours by State.
The interactive AIT Planner turns the Arkansas requirement into a live hours-allocation plan across all eleven department rotations, with a self-assessment that shapes where your hours go. No account needed.
Open the free AIT PlannerArkansas uses the national exams from NAB (the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards): the Core of Knowledge exam, 125 questions in 150 minutes, and the NHA Line of Service exam, 75 questions in 90 minutes. Both are computer-based and delivered at Pearson VUE testing centers; the Arkansas state exam, below, is not. We break down the structure in NAB Exam Format and the content in The Core Domains Explained.
Arkansas adds an exam of its own, and it works differently from the NAB exams. The Department of Human Services calls it the Arkansas Nursing Home Administrator State Licensure Exam. It is developed by the Office of Long-Term Care, not by NAB (20 CAR § 402-306(c)(1)), and it is currently given in person at the Department of Human Services building in Little Rock, with pencils provided. You take it only after you have passed the NAB exams.
| Who writes it | The Office of Long-Term Care, Arkansas Department of Human Services |
|---|---|
| Where | In person at the DHS building in Little Rock; pencils provided, photo ID required, up to 25 testers per sitting |
| When | After the NAB exams: DHS says they must be complete before you register for the state exam. Ask NHA.Testing@dhs.arkansas.gov how to schedule |
| Passing score | 70 (20 CAR § 402-306(c)(2)); each NAB exam needs a scaled 113 |
| Retakes | One retake of either exam; after two successive failures, an approved training course, a 6-month suspension, and a new application (§ 402-306(d)) |
| Deadline | 18 months from approval of your application to become licensed (§ 402-302(a)(4)) |
Questions about the state exam go to NHA.Testing@dhs.arkansas.gov. Neither the rule nor the Department’s page lists a question count, time limit or fee for it.
The rule defines it in one sentence, 20 CAR § 402-306(c)(1):
“An applicant will also be tested on their knowledge of Arkansas rules for the operation of nursing homes through the use of an examination developed by the office.”
The Department’s licensing page is more specific: it says the state exam is based on the Nursing Facility Regulations, now 20 CAR Part 400, Rules for Nursing Homes, and the Rules for Conducting Criminal Record Checks for Employees of Long-Term Care Facilities. Note that the administrator licensing rules themselves are not named.
One of those two sources no longer exists. The criminal record check rules, 20 CAR Part 404, were repealed effective 1 July 2026, but the Department’s page still lists them as exam material. If you are sitting the exam soon, ask NHA.Testing@dhs.arkansas.gov which version you will be tested on.
The Department says study materials for the state exam “will be available online and are free”, but the Department’s page lists no content outline, study guide or practice test for it. So the honest starting point is the text of Part 400, and the Department does not say which parts carry the most weight.
This is the structural point that decides how you read Part 400. An Arkansas nursing facility must be certified for Medicare or Medicaid to be licensed, unless it is private pay only (§ 400-1402). For certified facilities the state rules “may not exceed or duplicate federal requirements of participation”, with one exception: the 3.36 average direct care hours per resident day (§ 400-1403). In a few areas the text simply points to the federal rule, for example visitation (42 CFR 483.10(f)(4)) and infection control (42 CFR 483.80).
But Part 400 also still carries a lot of older state text with its own figures, and that text is what an exam written from the Arkansas rules can ask about. One detail shows its age: it still cites 42 CFR 483.13 for abuse (§ 400-306(a)), a section that no longer exists (abuse is now 483.12).
If you studied the federal rules for the NAB exams, these are six places where the Arkansas text says something different:
| Topic | Federal rule (42 CFR 483) | Arkansas rule | 20 CAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct care staffing | No hours-per-resident-day minimum; an RN at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week (483.35(b)(1)). The 2024 federal 3.48 figure was repealed effective 2 February 2026 | At least 3.36 direct care hours per resident day, as a monthly average; the prior month is reported to the Department electronically by the 15th. It applies to private pay only homes too (§ 400-1405) | 400-1404(a) |
| Director of nursing as charge nurse | Only with an average daily occupancy of 60 or fewer residents (483.35(b)(3)) | Not in a skilled nursing facility with an average daily total occupancy of 71 or more patients | 400-1302(d)(1) |
| Physician visits | At least every 30 days for the first 90 days after admission, then at least every 60 days (483.30(c)(1)) | At least every 60 days for patients in need of skilled care, and every 120 days for all others | 400-1202(b) |
| Reporting alleged abuse | Immediately, but not later than 2 hours if abuse or serious bodily injury, otherwise not later than 24 hours (483.12(c)(1)) | Reported to the Department through its online system no later than 11:00 a.m. on the next business day after discovery, and thoroughly investigated by the facility. Federal and other state reporting duties still apply | 400-306(b)(2), (e), (f) |
| RN coverage in intermediate care | An RN at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week (483.35(b)(1)) | In an intermediate care facility the RN works 40 hours a week, normally days, and an LPN may relieve on the director of nursing’s days off. A certified facility still needs the federal RN coverage unless it holds a waiver under 483.35(e) or (f) | 400-1301(b) |
| The administrator | Licensed by the State where licensing is required, and responsible for managing the facility; no minimum hours on site (483.70(d)(2)) | Full time, a minimum of 40 hours a week on the premises during normal business hours, managing no more than one nursing home; the Office is notified in writing of an absence of more than 7 consecutive days | 400-301(b); 402-301(c) |
Arkansas column: 20 CAR Parts 400 and 402 on the official Code of Arkansas Rules, September 2026. Federal column: 42 CFR Part 483 as published in the eCFR, September 2026. One topic we left out on purpose: the notice period for a transfer or discharge. Part 400 says 30 days in one section (§ 400-2505(b)) and 10 days in another (§ 400-411(7)(B)), so it is not a clean difference from the federal 30 days.
Each figure is listed with its condition, because the condition is part of the rule. Sections starting 400 are the Rules for Nursing Homes; 402 are the administrator licensing rules.
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The AIT program: Arkansas Health Care Foundation. It runs the one Arkansas AIT program, but it does not place trainees, so arrange a certified preceptor yourself before you apply.
State association: Arkansas Health Care Association, which represents more than 90 percent of the licensed long term care facilities in Arkansas and hosts the AIT program page. Its member facilities are where a preceptor is likely to be found.
For the full step-by-step on approaching facilities and preceptors, see How to Find an AIT Preceptor and an Approved Program.
The Office of Long-Term Care’s fees are set in the statute, not in the rule: 20 CAR § 402-302(a)(1) tells you to pay “the required licensure fee” set in Ark. Code § 20-10-404, and the renewal fees are in Ark. Code § 20-10-405. The exam fees are paid to NAB.
| Application | $100 with each application, and half of it is refunded if the Office refuses you a license (Ark. Code § 20-10-404(c); 20 CAR § 402-302(a)(5)) |
|---|---|
| Fee waiver | The licensing fee may be waived if you receive Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, TANF or Lifeline, were approved for unemployment in the last 12 months, or have income that does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines. The waiver does not cover the background check or exam fees (20 CAR § 402-302(b), (c)) |
| Criminal background check | Run by the Arkansas State Police at your cost. The rule sets no amount (§ 402-302(a)(3)) |
| NAB CORE and NHA exams | $480 for the two, paid to NAB |
| Arkansas state exam | No fee for it is stated in the rule or in the statute’s fee sections (see the state exam section above) |
| Annual renewal, active | $100, due on or before 1 July (Ark. Code § 20-10-405(a)(1)) |
| Renewal, not working as an administrator | $50 (§ 20-10-405(a)(2)). The rule calls this the inactive license fee |
| Late charge | $50 for a renewal postmarked or received after 1 July (§ 20-10-405(a)(4)) |
| Temporary license for an out-of-state administrator | $50, if the Office grants one (§ 20-10-406(b); see below) |
By our count, the Office and NAB fees for a first license come to $100 + $480 = $580 for a first attempt at both NAB exams, before any state exam fee, the background check and the AIT program. Act 636 of 2025 amended both fee sections but did not change these amounts. It renamed the license in § 20-10-404(a) from a “nursing home” to a “long-term care facility” administrator license, and it added a separate renewal subsection, § 20-10-405(b), for administrators of other long-term care facilities. The nursing home administrator fees above were carried over unchanged and are now in § 20-10-405(a).
The 20 hours, the no-carryover rule and the 1 July date are in the table at the top of the page. This section covers what that table leaves out.
What counts. Workshops and seminars are approved by the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance on “criteria established by the National Continuing Education Review Service” and NAB (20 CAR § 402-307(b)). The rule lists no required topics, such as ethics. The college option has a subject test: the 6 semester hours must be in courses “covered by the National Association of Boards of Examiners Domains of Practice” (§ 402-307(a)(1)(B)).
How to renew. You file a renewal application and the fee, and active licensees also submit verification that they met the CE requirement (§ 402-308(a)). The application must be postmarked by 1 July. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a state or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day (§ 402-308(b)). Renewal forms are on the Department’s nursing home administrator licensing page. You must notify the Division immediately of changes in address, employment or other pertinent information (§ 402-308(c)).
Out-of-state license (20 CAR § 402-305, automatic occupational licensure of out-of-state individuals; Ark. Code § 17-7-101 et seq., added by Act 457 of 2023). A nursing home administrator from another state “may qualify as a nursing home administrator in Arkansas” if you provide documentation that:
You must still “meet all other occupational licensure requirements for a resident of this state and all renewal requirements”, including a criminal background check and continuing education (§ 402-305(b)). The rule does not say which resident requirements that covers, such as the AIT proof in § 402-302(e), so ask the Office. The statute behind the rule applies to a person who “has established a residence in this state” (§ 17-7-103(a)). The rule does not repeat that condition, so ask whether you must already live in Arkansas when you apply.
Is the Arkansas state exam still required? The rule does not answer yes or no. § 402-305(c) says only that “The Department of Human Services may require an applicant to pass an examination.” The general exam rule, § 402-306(a), speaks of “initial applicants”. The 2023 law lets an agency that requires an exam on state law waive it “if the occupational licensing entity finds that” your education, training and experience substitute for it (§ 17-7-104(d)). Neither the rule nor the Office’s instructions say whether NAB scores are checked. The Office’s application instructions ask reciprocity applicants to “contact OLTC before submitting your application”, so do that first (NHA.Licensure@dhs.arkansas.gov).
Temporary license. The statute says the Office “may by rule establish terms and conditions for reciprocity licensure” for administrators “currently licensed in good standing” in other states, and that “At their option” such applicants may get a “nonrenewable temporary license not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days” for $50 (Ark. Code § 20-10-406). The licensing sections of the current rule, §§ 402-302 to 402-309, set no terms for that license apart from the military one below. NAB’s Arkansas page lists “Offer Temporary/Provisional License: Yes”. Ask the Office whether it issues one to you and on what terms.
A second out-of-state law. Ark. Code § 17-1-108, added by Act 426 of 2019, is also still in the Arkansas Code. It tells licensing agencies to adopt by rule the “least restrictive requirements for an occupational license” for a person who holds a substantially similar license in good standing in another state, with a “temporary and provisional occupational license for ninety (90) days or longer” (§ 17-1-108(c), (d)(1)). Its list of exempt reciprocity laws, in subsection (h), does not include § 20-10-406. Act 457 of 2023, which created the automatic licensure law above, did not repeal or amend § 17-1-108, and neither law refers to the other. The Office’s rule follows only the 2023 law: § 402-305 cites it, and no section of Part 402 sets up the 90-day license the 2019 law describes. The official texts do not settle which law the Office applies to you, so do not guess: confirm with the Office of Long-Term Care which route it will use for your application, and whether it will issue a temporary license, before you apply.
Military and spouses (Ark. Code § 17-4-101 et seq.; 20 CAR §§ 402-303, 402-304). The old § 17-1-106 was repealed by Act 135 of 2021, which created this chapter. The rule covers a uniformed service member stationed in Arkansas, a veteran who resides in or establishes residency in Arkansas, and their spouses (including the spouse who relocates while the service member is on a tour that excludes the spouse, and the spouse of a member killed in the line of duty who establishes residency).
Rule text: 20 CAR Part 402 on the Code of Arkansas Rules (effective 1 July 2024), read September 2026. Statute text from the Justia copy of the 2025 Arkansas Code, which is a mirror, checked against the Acts on the Arkansas Legislature’s site: Act 426 of 2019, Act 457 of 2023 and Act 636 of 2025.
These are the legal sources that govern nursing home administrator licensure in Arkansas. The Department’s page says the state exam is based on the Nursing Facility Regulations (now the second of these, the Rules for Nursing Homes) and the criminal record check rules.
Citations verified against official sources, September 2026. Provided for reference, not legal advice; the current official text governs. Mirrors are labeled where an official public link is not available.
The rule says applicants are tested on their knowledge of Arkansas rules for the operation of nursing homes, through an exam developed by the Office of Long-Term Care (20 CAR § 402-306(c)(1)). The Department’s page names the Nursing Facility Regulations (now 20 CAR Part 400, Rules for Nursing Homes) and the criminal record check rules for long term care employees, which were repealed on 1 July 2026. No content outline, study guide or practice test is published, so ask NHA.Testing@dhs.arkansas.gov what is currently covered.
The Arkansas Administrator-in-Training program is 640 hours: 72 hours of classroom instruction and 568 hours of facility-based training under a certified preceptor, over 16 weeks, run by the Arkansas Health Care Foundation. The rules conflict on who must complete it: 20 CAR § 402-205 makes it the route for applicants who do not meet the education and experience requirements, while § 402-302(e) says applicants submit proof of completing it. Confirm your own case with the Office of Long-Term Care.
The NAB Core of Knowledge exam and the NHA Line of Service exam, taken at Pearson VUE, and then the Arkansas Nursing Home Administrator State Licensure Exam, which the Office of Long-Term Care currently gives in person in Little Rock after you pass the NAB exams. The state exam needs a score of 70, and each NAB exam a scaled 113.
Active administrators need 20 clock hours of approved continuing education in each licensure year, or 6 semester hours of college courses, or an approved course in nursing home administration. Hours cannot be carried over. No CE is needed for the first renewal if you were first licensed after 2 July, and time spent preparing for the licensing exams can count (20 CAR § 402-307(c)). Licenses are renewed every year by 1 July, and the fee is $100. Rules change between cycles, so confirm with the Office of Long-Term Care.
The Arkansas Health Care Foundation runs the state’s AIT program, but it does not place trainees: you need a certified preceptor who has agreed to take you before you apply, and a preceptor must have held an Arkansas administrator license for at least 3 years. The Arkansas Health Care Association, whose members include most licensed facilities in the state, hosts the program page.
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